A string of violent incidents in the past six years have dealt a serious blow to Egypt's tourism sector, but there has been an upswing in the number of visitors owing to the improved security situation and various steps taken by the government, a visiting tourism official has said.

"It is undeniable that political turbulence, terrorism and airline disasters have affected the tourism industry, but times are changing now as the security condition is improving and we are taking all kinds of measures," Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) Chairman Hesham El Demery told IANS here.

The IS bombing of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in October 2015 over the Sinai Peninsula killed 224 people and led to Russia banning travel to Egypt. This led many European governments to ban flights from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh.